One of the great things about being in the Gallery of the Classic Boat Museum is meeting and talking to the interesting people who step through the door. Recently we were lucky enough to be visited by Mattia Valanzano and his friend Sam. Mattia had just dropped in from Guatemala to find out something about a classic boat that he owns which was built at Sam Saunders Yard in East Cowes in 1928. The vessel is a self-righting motor lifeboat originally built for the RNLI and commissioned as the Thomas Markby in Swanage. She was renamed SV Ambler at a later point in her long career navigating the globe.
After looking around the Gallery we were able to go over the river to the Boat Shed to visit Jesse Lumb, the museum’s 1939 Watson Class RNLI lifeboat, a later evolution of Mattia's own boat.
Mattia purchased his lifeboat in 2018 in Grenada, where she had been “resting” in the mangroves. He moved onboard and began a gradual restoration while sailing and working throughout the Caribbean. In 2023 he crossed west to the Rio Dulce in Guatemala, where he plans to do the remaining work, including re-planking her hull.
Mattia's goal is to make her ready to sail back across the Atlantic to her original home port of Swanage in time for her 100th birthday in 2028. To help finance this considerable undertaking, he is creating an illustrated book of Ambler’s story with help from a few talented friends. He hopes that the book will also be a way that many more people can enjoy and participate in this unique story. Mattia has conducted research, interviewed previous owners, crew, and even met with a descendant of Thomas Markby, the vessel’s namesake and patron.
Mattia is a 33-year old sailor and boat designer originally from La Spezia, Italy. He is certainly passionate about old wooden boats, traditional craftsmanship, and maritime communities. Ambler has been his home, workshop, transport and a base for building community. She has touched and changed many lives over her nearly 100 years - it’s his goal to bring her home to celebrate her centenary and to share all that this represents.
Dr Dominic Fontana
December 2024
On 21 December 1943 my Father's ship - the Free French Chasseur 5 - Carentan - capsized in heavy weather while escorting a submarine - HMS Rorqual. The position was close to St Alban's Head and, while the ship was still floating in very rough seas, the Swanage lifeboat attended. I assume this was the Thomas Markby. A few of the crew were rescued but the majority were trapped within the floating hull. My Father - the Captain - was among those lost. The lifeboat returned to shore to collect cutting equipment but in the meantime the ship sank. There is now a good deal of information and several links giving further detail about the loss of the the …